The present invention is directed to a device for transporting and processing foodstuffs, and more specifically, meat products.
To produce foodstuffs, in particular meat of fine consistency, it is normally necessary to mix various starting materials or ingredients and process them together. For example, a device adapted to produce these foodstuffs can include a feeding device, a grinder with an input and an outlet, and a drive element to drive cutting elements situated in a housing of the grinder. In such devices, the various starting materials, such as meats and/or doughs as well as plant ingredients, known in German as Braet (raw sausage) in the case of meat, are introduced into a feed hopper and an associated feeding device, the combination also known as a stuffing machine. Within this feeding device, the individual ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and a transport device such as a worm drive transports the mixed ingredients to a grinder attached to the device. Depending on the consistency of the starting materials or ingredients and the steps used to process the foodstuffs, the grinder may include a stuffing grinder, separating grinder, or chopper. A grinder of this sort contains cutting elements that cut up or mince the mixed material and force it out through an orifice situated at the outlet of the grinder. The orifice at the outlet is bounded by a so-called perforated disk. The cutting elements are driven in a known manner by a drive element, which transmits a torque to the cutting elements, for example by means of a driveshaft. This driving torque causes the cutting elements to rotate, which brings about the mincing process.
In particular when processing meat, particles of various sizes collect in the interior of the grinder, usually in the area of the cutting elements. These particles can consist, for example, of fat, meat, cartilage or bone. To maintain a constant output of minced material and to prevent damage to the apparatus, it is necessary to remove these particles from the interior of the grinder. In the known devices for transporting and processing foodstuffs, the grinder is firmly connected to the device. In order to clean the area in which the cutting elements are situated, an operator removes the perforated disk situated at the outlet of the grinder and withdraws the cutting elements from the grinder with a pulling tool. These pulling tools have proven to be difficult to handle in practice.
A major problem of the known device is that regardless of possible safety precautions for servicing the device when the grinder is open, the device may be set in motion while the operator is disassembling the cutting elements. It is obvious that this carries a significant risk of injury and can even result in the loss of limbs.
Consequently, one object of the present invention was to specify a device that reduces as much as possible the risk of injury while servicing the grinder.